HOUSE OF UMOJA INC. MARKS FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY OF LEADERSHIP FOR NATIONAL MILLION FATHERS MARCH IN PHILADELPHIA WITH FOCUS ON ENGLISH AND MATHEMATICS LITERACY

CONTACT:

 Anthony Bannister-Fattah, Philadelphia Coordinator -  2022 National Million Father March

Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, Advisor – 2022 Philadelphia National Million Father March

House of Umoja, Inc.

(215) 473-5893

E-Mail:  falakafattah@aol.com

                       

“We desire to bequeath two things to Our Children – the first one is roots, the other one is wings”.

-Sudanese Proverb-

          PHILADELPHIA, PA (USA) –  Fifteen years ago, in 2007, the House Of Umoja, Inc. (https://houseofumoja.net), an internationally acclaimed institution that has a 54-year successful track record in addressing and reducing violence and positively transforming the trajectory of the lives of over 3,000 adolescent males, became the City of Philadelphia’s organizer and leader for the National Million Father March an initiative created by the late  Mr. Philip Jackson and headquartered in Chicago, Illinois (www.blackstarproject.org; www.fathersincorporated.com) that   encourages Fathers to take a proactive role in the education of their children and continues to redefine and reshape Fatherhood in the United States.  It is estimated that approximately 198,645 students enrolled in the School District Of Philadelphia will return to the classroom on Monday, 29 August 2022 – the first day of the 2022-2023 academic year.

 

         On Wednesday, 24 August 2022 at 2:00 P.M. (E.S.T.), the House Of Umoja, Inc. will host a press conference at the Tustin Recreation Center which is located at  5901 Columbia Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to launch the City of Philadelphia’s observance of the 2022 National Million Fathers March.  The press conference is a call to Fathers and Father Figures throughout the City of Philadelphia to register for the Philadelphia 2022 National Million March; receive instructions to prepare for the observance of the Philadelphia 2022 National Million Fathers March; and pick up their registration kits.  Registration kits include a free Million Fathers March “I Come In Peace” t-shirt for the first 100 participants.  Philadelphia City Councilmember The Honorable Curtis Jones, Jr. will be among the slated speakers at the press conference scheduled for Wednesday, 24 March 2022 at 2:00 P.M. (E.S.T.) which is being hosted by the House Of Umoja, Inc. at the Tustin Recreation Center at 5901 Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

 Fathers in neighborhoods throughout the City of Philadelphia are being encouraged to:

 ·         Escort their child to school on Monday, 29 August 2022 

·         Meet their child’s teachers and the principal of their child’s school

 ·         Foster a parent-teacher-school administrator partnership that positively enhances their child’s learning environment, creates and supports a “school-to-work” curriculum, disrupts the current “school-to-prison pipeline” curriculum, and exponentially improve proficiency levels in English and Mathematics

 ·         Conduct “listening sessions” with their child that provide their child with an opportunity to talk about  their daily experiences at school – e.g., their interactions with their classmates and teachers, their favorite subjects, their least favorite subjects, the physical condition of the school building – e.g., leaking ceilings, dysfunctional bathrooms, lack of heating, lack of supplies – textbooks, computers, etc.

 ·         Obtain a copy of their child’s roster and the academic calendar for their child’s school, and the school’s budget for the 2022-2023 academic year

 ·         Read to their child and have their child read to them

 ·          Review their child’s homework assignments on a daily basis

 ·         Review their child’s English and Mathematics literacy test scores

 ·         Move their child to embrace nonviolence and peace by encouraging their children to sign the Imani Pledge™ (https://houseofumoja.net/imani-pledge.html).

 

             Leading by example, the House of Umoja, Inc. (www.houseofumoja.net), the City of Philadelphia’s Coordinator for the 2022 National Million Father March, on Monday, 29 August 2022 to ring in the 2022-2023 academic year will lead Fathers in escorting their child(ren) to school. Fathers are being asked to assemble at the House of Umoja, Inc.’s office located at 5625 West Master Street (David Fattah Way) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at 7:00  A.M. (E.S.T) ) in preparation for the march to Overbrook High School which is located at 5898 Lancaster Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and convening at the Tustin Recreation Center at 5901 Columbia Avenue in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

            “As we prepare to usher in the 2022-2023 academic year with the National Million Father March in the City of Philadelphia, a Sudanese proverb comes to mind that epitomizes what Fathers want for their child  and what every village wants for its children -- : ‘We desire to bequeath two things to Our Children – the first one is roots, the other one is wings’.  Roots is about being grounded – intellectually, spiritually, and historically.   Wings is about exceeding rising expectations, becoming one’s ‘best self’, and moving yourself, your family, and your village forward.  When Our Children do well, the village does well.   Education critically impacts our ability to ‘bequeath’ Our Children  with ‘roots and wings and the ability of the village to do well.  We can begin to bequeath Our Children with roots and wings, by focusing on their English and Mathematics  literacy skills which will be the focus of the 2022 Philadelphia National Million Father March.   Recently, the House Of Umoja, Inc. performed cursory research on the aggregate English and Mathematics Literacy skills level of students enrolled in the Philadelphia School District for the 2020-2021 academic year.    We learned that, as a whole, Our Children are not doing well academically.  As an example, students at Overbrook High School had a Mathematics Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate of 0.0%, while the statewide average Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate for Mathematics was 37.3%. The regular student attendance rate at Overbrook High School was 40%, while the statewide average attendance rate for students was 85.8%  Third grade students at the Add B Anderson School had an English Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate of 9.3%, while the statewide English Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate was 55.0%.     The Mathematics Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate for third grade students at the Add B. Anderson School was 1.4%, and the statewide average Mathematics Advanced/Proficient Literacy Rate for third grade students was 37%.  Students at the William Cullen Bryant School in Grades K through 8 had an English Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate of 18.5%, while the statewide average English Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate for students in Grades K through 8 was 57.3%.  The Mathematics Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate for students in Grades K through 8 at William Cullen Bryant was 0.0%, while the statewide Mathematics Proficient/Advanced Literacy Rate for students in Grades K through 8 was 57.3%.   Clearly, Our Children are not doing well and clearly, our village is not doing well.  The observance in Philadelphia of the 2022 National Million Father March gives us an opportunity to address and resolve this unacceptable academic crisis,” remarked Queen Mother Falaka Fattah, the President and Chief Executive Officer of the House Of Umoja, Inc.

           Established in 1968, the House of Umoja, Inc.’s successful track record of transforming the lives of and working with over 3,000 youths has moved universities and institutions that include, but are not limited to, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Prevention and the Center for Disease Control, to seek the expertise of Queen Mother Falaka Fattah and her late husband Mr. David Fattah in the areas of gang reduction, youth programming, and community organizing.  Former United States Presidents The Honorable James Earl Carter and the late Honorable Ronald Wilson Reagan have recognized the House Of Umoja, Inc. for its pioneering work which has been documented in published articles such as A Summons To Life, by Robert Woodson of the American Enterprise Institute in 1981 and The Violent Juvenile Offender by Paul DeMuro and Richard Allison of the National Council On Crime And Delinquency in 1984. 

              For further information about Philadelphia’s observance of the 2022 National Million Father March, contact the House of Umoja, Inc. at (215) 473-5893 or send an e-mail to falakafattah@aol.com, or visit the organization’s website at https://houseofumoja.net.

         For further information concerning the National Million Father March and Fathers Incorporated, visit its website at www.fathersincorporated.com or send an e-mail to:  info@fathersincorporated.com.